Youngkin ‘not paying attention to filing deadlines’ in early GOP primary states

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who has been floated as a potential 2024 White House candidate, says he is “not paying attention to filing deadlines” in the early-voting states and instead is focusing on the commonwealth’s upcoming legislative elections. 

Youngkin told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo in an interview Wednesday that he finds it “humbling” that his name is coming up in the 2024 race, but he is focused on keeping GOP control of the state House and winning a majority in the state Senate in November. He said he is not going to the early-voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire but instead traveling across Virginia to campaign for the legislative elections. 

“There is nothing more important than us holding our House and flipping our Senate in Virginia. That’s where my full attention is, and I am not paying attention to the filing deadlines, etc. I’m paying attention to making sure we hold our House and flip our Senate,” the governor said. 

Without a clear, viable alternative to former President Trump emerging in the current GOP primary field, Youngkin has been the subject of speculation about the possibility of him mounting a 2024 presidential bid. The Washington Post reported earlier this month that conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch has encouraged Youngkin to run on multiple occasions. 

The Virginia governor, who won election in 2021 in a state that had been signaling that it was trending bluer, has sent mixed messages on whether he would run, saying he would not mount a bid this year but did not rule one out after the legislative elections in November. But he also released a campaign-style video earlier this year paid for by his super PAC. 

Filing deadlines for candidates to get on the ballot in the early states are coming up in the fall, with some of them before the November elections that Youngkin mentioned. 

He told Bartiromo that the potential for Republicans to win in the legislative elections is “so important for Virginians and for the nation to see that this can happen.” He said Virginia has shown that even states that were “truly blue” can be shown to turn red.

He said he watched the first GOP presidential debate last week and was encouraged to see “a series of strong voices across America standing up for values that are so important.” But he again changed the topic to the Virginia legislative elections. 

Youngkin has also been a strong proponent of encouraging more Republicans to vote early to close the gap that Democrats have over the GOP in non-Election Day voting.